With a chance to close out the DIRTcar Sportsman Series Central Region championship in front of him, Richard Murtaugh made the most of his opportunity.

The Fulton, NY driver wrestled the lead from Dan Ferguson on Lap 3 and held off Taylor Wason to win Saturday’s finale at Fulton Speedway.

For Murtaugh, it’s his second Series win in four days, which earned him enough points to secure the 2026 Central Region championship.

Ferguson, from Bloomfield, ON, led the race’s opening two laps with Murtaugh on his back bumper.  That lead didn’t last long, though, as Murtaugh drove by the No. 11 on Lap 3 to take the lead for the first time.

As Murtaugh gained the top spot, Wason followed behind him and chased the No. 33M around the high banks of Fulton’s 3/8-mile track. The two battled through the corners, with Wason taking the lead from Murtaugh on Lap 18. But Murtaugh, who entered the race as an eight-time Series winner, knew what to do to the get lead back.

The “Rocket” only needed one lap to regain the lead, taking the top spot back from Wason as the race’s only caution fell on Lap 19.

From there, Murtaugh held on to score his ninth career DIRTcar Sportsman Series win, worth $1,000.

With his Victory, Murtaugh is now tied with seven other drivers for 10th on the Series all-time wins list.

Wason settled for second, earning his sixth DIRTcar Sportsman Series top 10 of the season. Joining Wason and Murtaugh on the podium was Brett Sears, from Clay, NY.

Hunter Hollenbeck finished fourth after starting 17th, and Jack Meeks rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Series officially kicks off Championship season with a visit to Glen Ridge Motorsports Park in Fultonville, NY, on Sunday, Aug. 9.

DIRTcar Sportsman Series Central Feature (30 Laps): 1. 33M-Richard Murtaugh[2]; 2. 07W-Taylor Wason[3]; 3. 83-Brett Sears[5]; 4. 72-Hunter Hollenbeck[17]; 5. 1-Jack Meeks[6]; 6. 20K-Kyle Perry[13]; 7. 28$-Brian Harber[19]; 8. 33-David Hackett[8]; 9. 6M-Cody Manitta[4]; 10. 410-Mike Fowler[12]; 11. 64-Tyler Corcoran[7]; 12. 10K-Karl Comfort[9]; 13. 11-Dan Ferguson[1]; 14. 6-Josh Sokolic[16]; 15. 10G-Austin Germinio[23]; 16. 19J-Joe Kline[14]; 17. 32-Joe Trichilo[25]; 18. FOX28-Tyler Stevenson[29]; 19. 20-Brayden Bullock[11]; 20. R1-Riley Rogala[20]; 21. 89-Belle Hogan[27]; 22. 43J-Jayden Wust[24]; 23. 16X-Savannah Laflair[26]; 24. 14-Samuel Groom[18]; 25. 10H-Trevor Houghton[30]; 26. 06W-Dorian Wahdan[22]; 27. 5G-Cale Gareau[21]; 28. 0-Tony Finch II[15]; 29. 22-Parker Fowler[28]; 30. 10J-Josh Livingston[10]

Hoosier Racing Tire Award (Free Tire): David Hackett

This article was republished with permission from DIRTcar Northeast. The original article can be found here: https://dirtcar.com/dirtcar-ne/sportsman-modifieds/dirtcar-sportsman-series/ride-of-the-rocket-richard-murtaugh-wins-at-fulton-clinches-dirtcar-sportsman-series-central-region-title/.

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